Demon Within
by Drax Kamone
Summary: While in school, Ryu meets up with Matoshi and Tsukune and his life in this zany academy goes wild with adventure, heartache, and kickassery. Not meant for those who can't handle cursing. Sequel coming soon
1. Introduction

It is a dark and stormy night, lightning crashes outside the entranceway to a morgue-like building. Two men are standing there, one shrouded in silken robes, the other wearing standard Japanese school clothing.

"Keiryuu, i have an assignment for you. Since you are graduating, you are the only one i can trust with this task from my inner circle."

"Whatever you give me, i will follow the orders until i die."

"Just what i was hoping for. You're assignment..."

"So, are you getting on or not?" asked the bus-driver.

The dazed human boy gradually comes together and rushes on the bus to find only two other people on it, both of them sitting near the far back.

"Hi, I'm Aono Tsukune. Are you two going to Youkai Academy as well?" asked Tsukune.

"You bet your ass we are, this is the only school i would be accepted into anyways!" replied the one on the left, a boy of 15 with pure white hair with clothing just as white.

"What he said, only i am here to perform at the best academy around!" replied the energetic redheaded boy on the right. He looked tall for his age, as Tsukune observed, and carried a bit of a power-filled feeling.

"That sounds good, I'm here because i couldn't get into any other high school without repeating a grade..." sighed Tsukune.

"Hmm... You seem interesting enough; I'm Akiya Ryu. You can call me Kei ^^." the cheery redhead declared.

"And i am Yutsuki Matoshi... now let me go back to reading..." the chill guy said while flipping his book to the next page.

"Nice to meet you" Tsukune proclaimed as he reached his hand out to shake with Ryu.

"Uh, not to wise of an idea, you might get burned," warned Ryu.

"Huh, what do you mean? How could I get burned, I see no flammable objects here." Tsukune observed.

"Haha, just touching me would burn you, i am a skilled fire user, and my friend here is an expert ice master from the same mountain range as i am." Ryu explained.

"Wha-what do you mean, like a circus?" questioned the slightly frightened Tsukune.

"No, these gentlemen are demons, monsters, whatever you want to call them. Youkai academy, or monster academy, was built by monsters, for monsters, and to teach the monsters. This school is a school for monsters." the bus driver explained with an evil look in his eye like he always has.

"You-you've GOT to be joking, right? RIGHT!!?" the frightened Tsukune peeved.

"no, no we are not, just take a look around you. While we were talking, we arrived at school. Follow us to your dormitory area, it should be safer for a human to walk with us," grinned Ryu.

As the trio was walking, talking, and slowly becoming friends, Tsukune gets hit with a bike in the back, and the bike backlashes to slam into Ryu and Matoshi as well.

"AH FUCK!!!!" Ryu screamed as falling on top of Matoshi, both faceplanting into the ground while Tsukune has his hand on Mokas thigh. As Moka releases a small moan of pleasure, Tsukune realizes where he is and what he is doing then quickly pulls away while apologizing.

"Dumbass…" Ryu declares while palming himself in the face and sighing.

"Are, are you hurt at all? OH, you're bleeding! Let me administer first aid immediately!" Moka declares while scrambling to her feet. As she attempts to administer first aid, she sniffs the blood.

"So sorry, but I can't resist, I'm a vampire, capu-chu!" Moka exclaims as she bites into Tsukune's neck, around the area of the wound. After a couple of seconds sucking, Tsukune realizes what just happened and freaks out.

"So… SO MONSTERS ARE REAL!!!!" Tsukune screams.

"Do, do you hate vampires?" asked Moka, making Tsukune blush with her natural charm.

"Uh, no. If they are solitary creatures, I think it would be cool to meet one," Tsukune answers with a smile to which Moka abruptly tackle-hugs him.

"Thank you!!! I've never had a single friend before I met you. I'm Akashiya Moka, pleased to meet you ^^."

"And I'm Aono Tsukune, and I am happy to be your friend, seeing as we are both freshman."

**Stare….**

"ACK!!! Who are you?" Moka asks while holding Tsukune tightly.

"Psh, we're just the other two people that were in the accident, also the friends of Tsukune-san…" replies the now bitter Matoshi.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Moka declares while bowing, "But will you also be my friends?"

"Sure thing WE'LL," Ryu jabs Matoshi while on this word, "become your friends, right alongside Tsukune," the joyous Ryu exclaimed, full of energy as usual.

And with that, the four of them walked off to Youkai Academy together, with the bus driver watching over them. Who is this strange Keiryuu? What are the secrets of the Academy? And more importantly, what awaits our heroes in the future? Only time will tell, here at the Monster Academy, where the Demon Within is waiting to be released…


	2. Chapter 1

"It's a peaceful morning, the crows are sleeping, the sun just over the horizon, the hothead quarrelling with the ice man... wait, what???" a now-awoken Tsukune questioned.

"...And i say that it's better cooked!"

"Well i like it frozen!"

"Cooked!" "Frozen!" "Cooked!" "Frozen!!!" The two males clashed with each other, one using icicles the other fireballs. A crowd had gathered to watch the fighting, yet when the two collided head on, an explosion erupted and everyone was left with an ashy face. Tsukune, being the responsible one, decides to go out and stop the two before they destroy the dorms.

"HEY!!! Quit fighting you two!" he yells as the two are about to kill each other. "Honestly, there is no reason to kill each other over food!"

"Well, he does have a point there... Fine, we'll end this... for now," the peeved Ryu declared.

"Yes, for now," the icy Matoshi responded. With that, they shook hands, Tsukune got ready for class, and the trio walked to the school, Moka joining them soon after.

"Woah! Who's that hot chick over there?" "That's Akashiya Moka, a new freshman here." "Wow, i want to ask her out!"

"Tsukune!!!" Moka calls out while running to Tsukune. Tsukune instantly turns around to meet her, and the two walk off without Ryu and Matoshi, holding hands all the while.

"What!?! What does that brat have that we don't!?" "Yeah, why does Moka pick him over us!?" "Jealousy!"

"Man, those guys need to calm down, Moka has a right to pick whoever she wants. If only Tsukune wasn't a brickhead though…" Ryu whispered to Matoshi.

"Psh, yeah. I know that I would totally return her love if it was me." Matoshi smirked.

"Well, he is human, so there is no reason for him not to notice. But why are we standing here talking when class starts in two minutes?" pondered Ryu.

"Uh… we're not?" Matoshi said nervously.

"Damn straight," the hothead smirked as he dashed off towards the school, Matoshi following closely behind.

**Snore**

"… and who originally wrote the Ode to Joy? Mr. Akiya? Do you know?" asked the music teacher.

"ACK, um… Beethoven?" I responded with a jolt as I realized I had fallen asleep in class again today. Why is it that repeating school is SO boring?

"That is correct, but try to stay awake next time Keiryuu, else you will have to stay after school in tutoring," the music teacher warned. At that, I perked up and stayed at full alert, so to avoid the horrid tutoring… I didn't want to go back to THAT room, especially after hours. Just then, Matoshi nudged me.

"Hey man, did you notice that Tsukune and Moka are here in our class too?" he pondered.

"It was to be expected, I pulled some strings with the director to get a class with them every period," I replied with a hint of irritation in my words.

"Hehe, calm down man, its not like you got caught by the new math teacher, her after-school tutorials are even worse than the music teacher's," laughed Matoshi, who I could feel was laughing at me instead of at his joke.

**Ring, Ring, Ring**

"Oh, there's the bell, time for us to go to Mrs. Nekonome's homeroom class," I sighed, not believing I had the same teacher for the five years I've been here. I loved her class, but she gets to be a bit… hyper at some points, and dealing with that for the last four years was hell on its own.

"Oh come on, man. I'm sure we can deal with it for another four years," Matoshi said, trying to cheer me up.

"AGH!!! Fine, I'm sure you're right, dude," I cried, soon to explode with frustration. It's as if Tsukune forgot about us whenever he was around Moka. I know that I shouldn't have cared, but I had seemed to grow on this friend. But it shouldn't matter as long as I complete the mission…

**So, Keiryuu, here is your assignment: you are to repeat high school and protect a newcoming student from any possible harm. His name: Aono Tsukune…**

The Headmaster's orders were clear, protect Aono Tsukune from any harm, mostly death. As long as I succeed in that mission, I shouldn't care.

"Quit spacing out and lets go!" Matoshi yelled as he sprinted down the hall. I quickly followed after him, screaming for him to wait up. He just chuckled and ran on.

"Oh, waddya know? I have Tsukune and Moka for homeroom too," I thought out loud as I walked in the homeroom class, taking a seat next to a blue-haired girl.

"That's great!" Tsukune proclaimed as he smiled at me. That moment made me smile in response, he really did value our friendship.

"Alright, I am your homeroom teacher, Nekonome! Welcome to Youkai Academy!" proclaimed a cat like woman that I knew oh so well. "So we all know this, but I feel like I should repeat it anyways. Youkai Academy is a school for monsters! And there are rules too! Rule 1: Students are to stay in human form while on campus and Rule 2: No other student should know your true form!" declared the overactive teacher.

"Alright, let's go through the attendance! First up… AKIYA KEIRYUU????" the puzzled Nekonome-sensei said, calling out my name.

"Present!" I amply replied, staring her directly in the eyes, sending a silencing message so that she wouldn't blow my cover. She finished up calling the role, me thinking of what type of food I would make for dinner all the while.

"Alright, this Academy was created for a special reason, can anyone name it. How about you, Keiryuu?" Nekonome asked me, knowing full well that I knew the answer, being here for the fifth year.

"To create an environment to teach monsters how to coexist with humans peacefully," I replied swiftly, everyone's eyes on me all the while.

"That's dumb, why not just eat the humans. That's what I would do," replied the dark-haired, long-tongued man sitting next to Tsukune.

"Saizou, stop spouting nonsense, you know that there are no humans on campus. If there was one, the Student Police would execute them on the spot," Nekonome-sensei replied with a tsk-tsk. At that moment, I could sense that Tsukune was sweating, worried about his humanity maybe? I got up and headed for the door, Nekonome-sensei asking me what I was doing. I kept walking while replying that the bell would ring as soon as I reached the door, which it did. I burst out the door and ran to my dorm as fast as possible.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS IT??" I yelled as I searched through my briefcase. "Dammit, it disappeared!"

"Hey man, what are you missing?" pondered the still-hiding Matoshi.

"My necklace, dude. You seen it anywhere?" I asked as politely as I could, even though I'm sure I shook him a bit and yelled. Oh well, details don't matter.

"Yeah, I have it right here. You dropped it in your hurry out of the classroom," he said briskly, even though I could tell that he was lying.

"You dumbass, you don't think I can't tell when you are lying? Why do you think I came back here so soon after class? I forgot to put on my necklace. You stole it, didn't you!?" I accused with a vengeance in my voice.

"Whatever, here's your pendant back," Matoshi tossed back my red pendant necklace, "Now lets get Saizou, I sensed a bad aura from him. And that twinkle in his eye when he saw Moka and Tsukune together… I think something bad will happen."

"Yeah, I feel the same way. Let's go!" I yelled as we again rushed to the school.

As we ran, we passed Tsukune going the opposite direction, and did an about face, running after him.

"YO, TSUKUNE!!!" I yelled after him. He stopped and looked at me, questioning what I wanted. "Why are you running with all your stuff? You don't plan on leaving, do you? The bus leaves only once a month nowadays, that one month period started yesterday. You still have to wait, even if you DO want to escape." I explained to him quickly, "Now where is Moka?"

"Uh…" **Scream**

"Ah, Fuck!" I cursed at the top of my lungs. As we ran to where she was screaming, I noticed that a new demonic aura had been formed, different from any one that I knew.

"Hey, Matoshi, let's let Tsukune fight this one, prove his strength to protect his girlfriend," I whisper to Matoshi while we slow down and let Tsukune go on alone without his knowing.

"So, Moka is a vampire… intriguing. I wonder how this series of years will turn out for me…" I pondered in my room that night, just before going to sleep, dreaming of what could possibly happen next since Saizou was taken out…


	3. Chapter 2

**ALARM SOUNDING**

"WAAAAAAAAAH! FUCK, I OVERSLEPT!" I yelled as I reached over and slammed the alarm off. I still couldn't shake off the horrifying dream last night. It was as if my memories were trying to catch up to me…

"Screw it, I'm late already, might as well take my time," I decide while getting dressed, skipping over shaving my face. I was pondering over the harshness of the possible punishment when I heard a girl cry for help. As I looked over, I realized that this was the same blue-haired girl that I sit next to in class!

"HEY, are you ok?" I question as I rush over to help her up.

"Yeah, I just got dizzy all of a sudden and fell down. Thank you for helping me up, Ryu," the cute girl proclaimed. **Hah, I might as well start with the famous Keiryuu while I'm ahead…**

"What was that?" I questioned, having heard some form of talking, even though no one would be around and I didn't see the cute girl talk.

"What are you talking about? I think you're hearing things," she pointed out.

"Well… I guess I was. Let's get you to the infirmary… wait, what is your name again?" I question while lifting her in my arms.

"Oh, I'm Kurumu. It's nice to meet you, Ryu!" she happily proclaims whilst looking in my eyes. **What… what is this, I can't control my body anymore!**

"Wait, did I just hear something? It sounded like you talked, yet I know you can't…" Kurumu pondered while being carried by my now "possessed" body. **Grr… why can't I control my body!!!** **Is this somehow due to Kurumu's looking me in the eyes…** I ponder in my head.

**Wait, can you hear what I am thinking right now?** Kurumu questions in her mind.

**Huh, what are you talking about, I'm not a psychic, how could I… oh shit, I… fuck, I can hear thoughts now!?**

At that, Kurumu runs off, face blushing, while I return to my normal status. "That… was weird. Why did she run away? Does she think that I read something in her thoughts that she didn't want me to? Oh well, I had better get to class before the… **bell rings …**fuck!!!" I yelled out the curse right when I started dashing for the homeroom class.

"Damn dude, you seem to have lost a lot of blood via nose spurting, and what is with the empty desk next to you?" Matoshi questioned me as soon as I sat down, coming in just in time for class to start. "You didn't happen to put that girl in an embarrassing situation, did you?"

"WHAT? NO!!" I yelled, getting attention from the whole class. "Oh shove it and stick with your own conversations. Nosy bastards…"

"Hey Ryu, you get pulled in by her too?" Moka asks me.

"Woah, didn't expect you to talk to me today, seeing as you were kinda avoiding me yesterday… but yeah, I got… I would say mesmerished, by that Kurumu just a short while ago." I responded with a stern, yet surprised look upon my face. "Wait, did she do the same for you?" I questioned with a bit of interest.

"No!" she cried as she slapped me, "I was referring to Tsukune, who isn't present at the time. I'm actually a bit worried about him…"

"Wait a minute… she ran off suddenly while I was being controlled by her… and if Tsukune wasn't in class, then maybe…" I ponder, then run off towards the infirmary, with Moka right behind me.

As we ran, I noticed something… I had just been talking to her with my mind. Does it work with everybody? **Hey, Moka. Can you hear me?** I asked in my mind.

**Who, who is this? The voice sounds familiar.**

**So you can hear me, wait a minute, this isn't Moka!**

**Yeah, it's Kurumu, what of it? Why is that bitch so much better than me?!** Kurumu muses in her mind while me and Moka run down the hall, almost at the infirmary.

**So, I can only do this with you, huh? No wonder it is so new to me…** I pondered while outside the door.

**Wait a minute, you're that guy from earlier! KEIRYUU!! Also, your signal got stronger just now… WAIT A MINUTE!!!!** She thinks these right as I bust down the door. "Kurumu!!!" I yell as I enter.

"Dammit, I thought so!" she yells as she is about to perform the succubus kiss on Tsukune. "Why must you ruin things for me TWICE!?" she screams at me while going into her true form, the succubus.

I swiftly get Tsukune and give him to Moka. Tsukune's hand falls off of Moka's shoulder and smacks the Rosario off. In a flash, Moka disappears to become Inner Moka, the true vampire.

"You bitch, you had better not touch my food source. Know Your Place!" Moka yells as she roundhouse kicks Kurumu out the window. All three of our group get out the window onto the ground below and notice that Kurumu is coming back, claws sharper than earlier. "DOWN!!" I yell and pull down Tsukune and Moka with me.

"You just don't give up, do you?" Inner Moka muses as she jumps up and hits Kurumu to the ground by a tree. She walks up to Kurumu. "You dare try to take my only food source. For that you will pay dearly," Inner Moka declares as she closes in. I jump in the way of Inner Moka.

"Hey there, that is enough! There is no need to kill her, she already learned her lesson! Besides, I'm sure that she wasn't doing these things to be evil or anything? Right Kurumu?" I ask her. But before I can receive an answer, I get kicked out of the way through 10 trees until I stop, beaten and bruised, and I pass out.

The next day I wake up in a hospital bed with Kurumu over me and my other friends waiting in chairs. To savor the moment, I pretend to be still asleep, yet unfortunately…

"RYU!! I can hear your thoughts, you know!" Kurumu yells as she rakes me with her nails.

"Uh…. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!" I scream out in pain as the blood rushes from my cuts. Kurumu then proceeds to hug me tightly, suffocating me with her breasts. "Thank goodness you woke up, you've been out for so long, I thought you had been killed!" she yelled, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Ca… Brea…" I muffle out the words 'Can't breathe' while in her tight hug. She abruptly lets go and I go limp from the lack of oxygen, to which she proceeds to perform CPR, then rake my face again for reading my thoughts.

"Wh-why…" I moan as I get my face bandaged up by Moka. "By the way, Moka, you have one HELL of a kick for such a pretty lady." To which I get another slash from Kurumu, which knocks me out again. I come too in about 30 minutes to the sight of Moka holding down Kurumu so that she doesn't hurt me anymore.

"Man, this school is full of adventures, isn't it? I mean, yesterday we had one fight, then we meet another special friend today, I wonder what's in store for tomorrow?" I question out loud.  
"That, Ryu, doesn't matter, as long as I spend it with you." Kurumu declares, blushing all the while. I proceed to blush, "Thank you, Kurumu. You are the first person that I have ever fallen for, and I am glad you feel that way back."

And with that, the day ends. Moka and Kurumu fight more, Tsukune, Matoshi and I chill out drinking coffee and talking about sports, and the darkness in my heart is growing nearer to the surface… the darkness that I have come to call my Demon Within.


	4. Chapter 3

"Hey, Matoshi?" I ask my friend, who happens to be half-asleep at the moment.

"Hmm?" he grunts, opening both eyes to stare at me.

"I know it is boring to listen to a tale of our adventures, but you have to listen. Unless you don't want me to listen to your viewpoint of the adventures," I point out, glaring back at him.

"Fine, continue with your story. I'll try my best to listen." He says half-heartedly, proceeding to lay his chin on the desk.

The next morning, I woke up to find that it was the day mid-term grades came out. I got excited and rushed out the door, forgetting to change out of my pajamas. Everyone stared at me and I abruptly went back in to put on some decent clothing.

"You must be excited today, what with mid-term grades being posted," Matoshi pointed out when I left the building, having my shirt on backwards, which I fixed immediately.

"Yeah, I sure as hell am. But I'm still not used to wearing this lame green uniform," I whined.

"Stop bitching about it, you think I like it any better? We both have to wear these to cover up our past. If we ever get found out, THEN we can get our old clothes back on," Matoshi pointed out, again, but with more irritation then usual.

"Nervous about the grades, dude?" I asked, mentioning the irritation in his voice.

"You know I am. Unlike you, I was never really GOOD with school," he stated, whilst gritting his teeth together.

"Right, right. Sorry, man, but we have to face the music and get to the board to check, you know?" I remind him while Tsukune comes out of the dorm. "Hey man, ready for the grades?"

"Hehehe… right, the grades **gulp**," Tsukune says nervously, a bead of sweat dropping from his brow.

"Join the crowd, Matoshi over here is most likely more nervous than you," I laughed, getting frozen by Matoshi, who glared at me over the touchy subject. I burn through with ease, being used to the freezing move by now. "Anyways, let's get to the scores before they are taken down," I add in just as Moka runs to Tsukune and Kurumu glomps me.

**Can't… Breathe** I tell her since my vocal chords won't respond.

**Whoops, sorry Ryu** she promptly replied, moving enough to allow me to breathe.

"Anyways, as I was saying, let's head down there before they take the scores down!" I proclaimed happily, running off with the others closely behind.

As we arrived at the school, the board was easily noticeable from the entryway, being in the courtyard after all. I looked at my watch and see 7:30 on it.  
"Drat, we're still 30 minutes early for class," I moaned, thinking that I was too impatient. I walked over to the board, Matoshi laughing at me while we went. We looked for our names on the board.

"Hey, me and Tsukune got the same place!" Matoshi gladly proclaimed.

"Yet, the distance between Moka and Tsukune is a bit big, don't you think?" I questioned while looking for my name.

"It doesn't matter, we get to study together now!" Moka declared happily when I found my name.

"Wha-WHAT?!" I yell loud enough for everyone to hear, "I was beaten by a kid???"

"Hey, it was only by one point. Second isn't too bad man," Matoshi pointed out, to which I glared at him. "You know that Yukari is the smartest person here, so I'm surprised you find it so offensive that she beat you."

"Shove it, snowball," I said, peeved that I could lose to a child. When I said that, Yukari dropped a pan on Tsukune's head. "Hey you, Yukari? It isn't nice to mess with people you know." I decided that I would beat Yukari in academics from that day forward.

"I don't have to listen to you, I'm a genius," Yukari arrogantly said, causing me to go red and only Matoshi holding me back prevented me from killing the twerp.

"You're lucky I have Matoshi here!" I yelled, my hair ablaze and my teeth gritted. "Oh well, lets get to class, Matoshi." I stormed off to the classroom with Matoshi following closely behind me.

"Huh, you aren't gonna stay after school today?" Kurumu asked me after homeroom.

"Nah, I have to make something for my dad. It's his birthday tomorrow, but I'll see you when I'm finished with the work," I explained to her.

I walked back to the dorms alone, noticing nothing out of the ordinary on the way back. "Hmm, that's strange…" I thought outloud, "Usually something is going on around here… something must be up." I decided to head back to the campus when I noticed a broken wand lying on the pathway to the girl's dorms. "This can't be good." I concluded, rushing into the woods beside the road, following a couple of blood drops.

**LOUD SCREAM**

"Yup, definitely something going on down this path!" I yelled as I picked up the pace, now sprinting down the path towards the voices.

"Get away from me you ingrates!" I heard a girl yell. I recognized the voice as Yukari and sped up, no one was going to beat Yukari up, I still have to beat her in academics!

"Yukari-chan!" I heard another voice, this time belonging to what I thought was Moka, call out when I reached the edge of a swamp. The mist made it hard to see, but I could make out the figures of three men and Moka holding Yukari beside a tree.

"Yo, what seems to be the commotion?" I ask the men, who turn around to look at me while Moka, Yukari, and now Tsukune and Kurumu talk amongst themselves. About what, I still don't know.

"Grr… another one?" the middle man asked.

"Just another one for us to eat up!" the one on the left proclaimed, licking his serpentine lips.  
"Ah, lizardmen I see? Should be easier than I thought," I processed as they came at me with relatively no thought. "Bring it on, dumasses."

"You're gonna die for that, ingrate!" the leader yelled at me while snapping at my head, to which I nimbly dodged, sweeping his feet from under him.

"That all you got?" I pondered, as the next two double-teamed me.

**I thought you said that you had something to make for your father!** I heard in my head.

**Well, I did Kurumu, but I had to-** I thought just as the men seized the opportunity to throw me into the tree by the group. "GAH!!" I screamed as the air left my lungs. I passed out instantly, the last thing I saw being Kurumu running over to me.

"Son of a bitch, I was so close to winning," I whined outside the swamp, leaning on a tree to support my limp body.

"Well I guess we are just lucky Matoshi showed up to save the day, aren't we?" Kurumu pointed out.

"I guess…," I said, wallowing in shame.

"Don't pout, hun. It's fine for you to have lost, seeing as you tried your best." Kurumu-chan said, trying in vain to cheer me up. What she didn't know was that I didn't try my best. If I unleashed my true potential, then all that I had built up would be in vain, seeing as everyone would know my true identity and I would fail my mission.

"Well, I guess you're right!" I said, faking a smile.

"Anyways, it seems we have a new friend, Yukari-chan! But it also seems that she has fallen for Tsukune…" Moka said to Kurumu and I.

"Heh, I guess that means she is Moka's rival now too," I snickered, getting a slap in the face by Kurumu for some reason that was completely unrelated, I still don't know why she slapped me… oh well.

"Well then, I guess I had better head back to work on my little project!" I declared, rushing back to my dorm before nightfall hit.

I was twiddling with a couple of trinkets when I realized that it was 9 pm. "Ack, I have only an hour to get the report in to the director!" I yelled, rushing to my desk to write down what has happened over the past week so the director can assess the mission as of now. I finished the letter at around 9:30 and rushed to the headmaster's office to give him the update.

"You're eyes are golden, why is that?" the exorcist headmaster asked when I arrived.

"Uh, I guess that I forgot to renew the color changing illusion." I promptly replied, trying to catch my breath. I then cast the spell to make my eyes green and make my hair short and spiky again.

"Anyways, the mission updates?" the headmaster asked.

"Yes, here they are. The mission appears to be going to plan so far, but what about if I run into a complication. I hear that Anti-Thesis is making more mayhem for you these years?" I presented the letter to him while asking the question that had been pestering my mind for the past day.

"They are no bother right now, so you have no need to worry. But if push comes to shove, I will allow you to unleash your true form, but only if it is required to save Tsukune. This project must go on!" he declared, having a cool yet determined air to him.

"Yessir, I shall continue to watch Tsukune and the others until the mission is completed!" I responded, saluting the headmaster like one of those human army men.

"Good, now get back to your father's gift, it seems to be plaguing your mind."

At around midnight I finally finished the project, a demonic aura stone that I planned to give my parents at the meeting on the next day. But could anything go wrong there? Will tomorrow be the first normal day of the year? Or will it hold even worse surprises than I've already seen…


	5. Chapter 4

"Woah man, you look like you're dead!" Matoshi proclaimed as soon as I walked out of the dorms.

"That would be due to the lack of sleep last night. I just couldn't get this foreboding aura off my mind…" I sighed, almost drifting off to sleep again. I jangled the demon stone on my neck, drawing attention to it while also waking myself up.

"Hey man, you finally finished that thing?" Matoshi asked, knowing I had been working on it for quite some time. "It looks well done, how much energy did it take to make?"

"Yeah, it's finished. And it took only about half of my full energy to make, which I recharged over the few nights I've had to rest." I replied, rubbing sleep from my eyes. "Does this school have any coffee?"

"Might as well check out the vending machine if you need some caffeine, you would have to make the coffee if you wanted some." Matoshi pointed out, smirking as he saw my disappointed reaction.

"Fine, but I really need coffee next time, I think I'll pick some up on my next trip to the Human World…" I sighed, trying to get the craving out of my mind.

At the machine, I decided to get a Monster energy drink and chugged it in under a minute. Feeling refreshed, I decided to buy two more for later, so that I wouldn't hit a crash. Soon after pulling out the second and third cans, I get tackle-hugged by Kurumu and Yukari had to pull her off of my face.  
"Good morning, Kurumu!" I declared, now full of my normal spunk. "And good morning to you three as well!"

"Mornin' Ryu!" the four of them replied, smiling all the while.

"Hey, don't club activities start up today?" I asked, looking at a poster advertising the chess club.

"Well, yeah they do! Maybe we could all get in the same club?" Moka suggested, but the only one listening was me, seeing as everyone else was looking at the swim club booth that was just recently set up.

"Ok, so I see that the others are absorbed in the lull of the water-sports club… but I think we both know why it wouldn't be good for us to join." I said to Moka, pointing out the fact that I control fire and am therefore weak to water. I walked up behind the gang and smacked them all on the back of the head. "NO! Bad forethought! Do you even know that vampires are weak to water? Same with fire-users!" I scold them for forgetting Moka.

"Oh right, I totally forgot dude, sorry!" Matoshi apologized. In an orderly fashion, each of the others apologized for their mistake.

"Hey, I have an idea, I already joined, but how about we all join the newspaper club?" I suggested, seeing as I was a member when I was last here with Sun, Gin, and the others.

"Sounds good!" "Whatever…" "Should be interesting." "Whatever you do I join!" "Sounds pretty good, fits all of us in one group easily." "As long as I'm with Tsukune and Moka desu~!"

"Alright, it sounds as if we are unanimous here, we join the newspaper club!" I yelled, pumping my fist in unison with the gang.

"Nekonome-sensei?" I called out, looking around the school for the infamous cat-lady.

"Nyaa~!?" she exclaimed as I stepped on her tail, which was in a concealed location, around a corner from where we were headed.

"Eh? Oh, what were you doing hiding behind the column?" I asked, weirded out by the sight of my teacher on the ground, holding something to her mouth. I offered my hand to her and pulled her back onto her feet.

"Oh this? I was just eating my lunch!" Nekonome-sensei declared, stuffing the rest of the goldfish in her mouth.

"Oh yeah, the reason for meeting you!" I remembered suddently, maybe from some inspiration from Kurumu… "Ok, so I went out and got my friends to join the newspaper club!"

"Yay, some new members!" Nekonome exclaimed, her grin widening drastically.

"Hey sensei, you seen Gin anywhere around here?" I asked, wanting to know where that leader of ours was. "I have something to converse with him about certain "issues"."

"Ok, he is over in the west wing. Should I take your friends in with me while you talk to him?" she asked me. I nodded to show my agreement and then ran off to look for Gin.

I had a distinct intuition that Gin was not in the west wing, so I ran out the window and dashed over to the girl's changing room. I walked past, looking for Gin, then I got a glimpse of a flash from far away.  
"Dammit Gin, I will kill you for this!" I yelled, running after the werewolf, yet still getting outrun due to his sheer speed. "Fuck, he's doing this crap AGAIN!" I screamed, ripping a bit of my hair out, attracting the attention of the girls in the changing room, which I was still positioned in front of.

"Fuck!!!" I yelled as the girls ran out and surrounded me, accusing me of being the serial peeper. "I'm not your guy! I'm just an innocent passerby who…" I started to say when they duck-taped my mouth closed, never giving me a chance to explain. I got gang-stomped and beaten to a pulp before being sent to the newspaper club tied in a bow. Everyone was there when the "package" was delivered, so I got full humiliation at the hands of Gin.

"MMPH!!!" I screamed, trying desperately to yell out my innocence. That is when I remembered my connection with Kurumu. **HEY KURUMU, I WAS FRAMED BY GIN!!!** I broadcasted to her as loud as I could.

**WHAT?! You mean that this is all Gin's doing?** She asked, trying to make head of what was going on.

**Yes, I was looking for him, knowing him as a pervert seeing as we are from the same middle school, when I stumbled across his normal peeping spot. He took pictures of me and I yelled at him, making the scared girls come out and accuse me of being the peeping Tom.** I explained, trying to get the full of the story out before it was too late.

"Tsk tsk, well then Ryu, caught peeping again?" Gin smirked, laughing at me in his mind. I really wanted to bash that creep's head in…

"Really? Well I would say YOU were the real culprit here, Gin." Kurumu states, pointing her finger at Gin.

"What are you talking about, Ryu was caught red-handed!" Gin said smugly, holding his hands up next to his shoulders, shrugging.

"Yeah, but I have a constant ESP connection to Ryu that I use to monitor him when he is off on treks or quests, or just without me. If he thinks of another woman that way, I know of it. Therefore, since I sensed nothing of the sort earlier, I am sure he wasn't doing anything associated with the Peeping Tom case. Also, no one ever said that he was the Peeping Tom, all that happened was he arrived tied in a bow. How would you know if this was related to the events unless you were the one who was there on the scene, being perverted?" Kurumu explained, deducing the key facts in his story that were flawed.

"Hehe, I was just taking pictures of him peeping…" Gin declared, a small bead of sweat dropping from his brow. "I was suspicious of him from the start."

"But didn't Nekonome-sensei say you were in the West Wing? Also, how would you know where Ryu would go if he was the Peeping Tom? Also, can we SEE these so called 'Photos'?" Kurumu said, holding her hand out to receive the photos. As Gin takes them out, he knocks the perverted pictures out of his pocket and the girls see them. Tsukune releases me and I stretch, ready to kill Gin for his betrayal.

"Wait a minute, where is Mato?" I asked, noticing the absence of my friend. "Oh right, he is the sponsor for the freshman class at the meeting… OH SHIT, THE MEETING!!!" I yelled, running towards the orientation.

"Mom and Dad, glad you could make it!" I declared as I found them in the crowd of incoming parents.

"Well, I couldn't miss my son's presentation at the meeting, now could I?" Mom smiled as she pinched my cheek.

"And I just came to see the item you said you had finally finished. Do you have it?" Dad asked, blunt and to the point as ever.

"Yes, I am wearing it right now in fact." I said, pulling the artifact off of my neck. "I call it the Demon's Tear, is it of good quality?" I asked, presenting the Demon's Tear to my Dad.

"Woah, such energy… Son, I cannot take this from you, it is a unique artifact that only can be used by you now… but be warned! This item will have drastic effects on you if you use it!" he warned, giving my item back to me, which I put back around my neck.

"Well, I'll take that into my mind, now go find your seats, the meeting/ceremony starts soon!" I called, beckoning them to their chairs.

"…And now our Second smartest student, Akiya Keiryuu, would like to show you all the power of one of the school elite." The leader of the ceremony declared, beckoning me onto the stage. I got my act prepared when I heard a howl come from the rooftop. Everyone rushed to the exit in fear of werewolves, an S class monster, because the night was a full moon.

"EVERYONE, GET OUT IN AN ORDERLY FASHION!!! Headmaster, I'll take care of Gin." I declared, getting Mato to help get the adults out in an orderly fashion.

**HOOOOOWWWWWWWLLLLLL!!!**

"Crap, he turned werewolf already!" I yelled as I arrived beside the gang, facing the now transformed Gin. "Guys, let me handle this! I have a score to settle with Gin for earlier…"

"Fine, but don't cry when he wins!" Kurumu teased, to which I smirked, knowing of her concern for me.

I decided that I couldn't beat him as I was, so I took off my jacket. Matoshi showed up around the time I did and gaped his mouth open. "Holy shit, he actually is gonna be serious in a fight for once…" he responds, gulping as the air fills with a burning aura.

"Wha-What's going on Mato?" Kurumu asks, worried about the newly present aura.

"When Ryu gets serious about a fight, he releases his hidden power. Every article of clothing he wears has a form of seal on it like Moka's rosario, only he can release his seals." Mato explained flawlessly.

"Damn straight!" I yelled, my body being set ablaze as I went into my primary form, my pyro sprite side popping out of me. I rushed Gin, going at speeds similar to his, but only a little lesser. "Tonight, you shall pay for your treachery!!!" I yelled as I punched at him, sending shockwaves of flames firing out behind the punch.

"So you think, you are too slow!!!" he responded, dodging the entire attack and jumping at me from behind. I responded with a whip kick to the face, sending him flying into the roof entrance. The dust covered up the moon's rays as I leaped into the air, coming down with a drop kick to knock him through the first two floors. "Learn your lesson, BITCH!" I yelled down after him, spitting on his body. I put my coat back on and walked over to Kurumu, who leaped out to hug me, everyone else just looking at me, their jaws dropped in awe, except for Mato, who was smirking at my guts for removing the seals.

"So, from today forward, our newspaper club starts with a BANG! First headline, "The Serial Peeper Revealed!"" I exclaimed, looking down the hole where a beaten and bruised Gin lay, soon to be surrounded by angry girls…

Author's note: sorry for the late addition to the chapters, I do have a life and that life is mondo busy, so I have been trying my hardest to get this story out there, one chapter at a time. If you really like this story, or just have critique, then please review it, that would really make my day!


	6. Chapter 5

"Hmmm… where am I?" I asked, wondering what could be going on. I was suddenly on a beach looking out to a sunset. "How did I get here?"

"_You came? Good, I have a message for you Ryu…" A strange voice told me, seemingly coming from nowhere. "You were brought here by me, so do not panic."_

_I looked around for the voice, and saw a lady up on a hill with yellow flowers all around her. Suddenly I was up there, right next to her. "Ok, but first let's start with who you are." I said, still confused as to why I was brought here._

"_I am Ruby, a witch in the human world. Our race comes near extinction at the hands of the humans and all we have left is this hill for protection. The humans are threatening the hill and Master needs you to come soon to help us remove the human threat. Seeing as you are a fellow monster, she decided you would be the best person to contact, seeing as you have the Gift." Ruby explained…_

I snapped awake as my alarm ringed quite loudly. "Damn that was a weird dream…" I said as I got out of bed to turn the blasted alarm off.

My name is Akiya Keiryuu and as most of you may know, I have been having multiple zany adventures with a select few who I deem my friends. Over the past few weeks, we have been actively engaged in the Newspaper Club and our popularity has skyrocketed. Don't think that all that time was peaceful, I just don't care much for small nuisances such as that love club which I call stalker club. This morning marks the beginning of a crazy number of events, all related to each other in some way or another….

I shrugged, giving up on explaining the dream to myself. I decided that I should get going soon and threw on my hat, seeing as I always sleep in my clothes. "Hey Mato, wake up you lazy sumbitch!" I yelled, slamming my fist on his door, causing him to shoot icicles at me through the door. "Sheesh, fiesty this morning are we?" I joked as I walked outside to meet with Kurumu and the others in our little gang.

"Hey guys, how's it-" I started to say when the usual Kurumu glomp suffocated me once again.  
"KURUMU, GET YOUR BREASTS OUT OF HIS FACE!!! YOU'RE SUFFOCATING HIM!!!" Yukari screamed, pulling on Kurumu to get her off of my face.

"Hey, I think of it like this: Kurumu is just simply trying to build up my ability to hold my breath in the chance that I get stuck in a place without oxygen or little oxygen for a while!" I returned, hugging Kurumu tightly.

"Yahoo! He guessed right!" Kurumu laughed, smiling at me, then returned the hug with a stronger one.

**Please, that is enough 'training' for one day Kurumu!!!!** I projected while she was crushing my lungs. She let go and I started laughing, everyone else joining in on the fun. Moka then bit Tsukune and drank his blood while no one was paying attention.

"So down to business," I said, my face getting serious, "We have to come up with a story for tomorrow's paper and also print out today's paper, so let's get cracking and move to the club room!" I said, pumping my fists.

After arduous searching and typesetting, our group finally had the paper printed and the issues for the next paper plotted out. We proceeded to head to the front of the school to our normal booth, where we usually handed out the issues. Mato and I stood guard around the booth as a sort of makeshift security system. The girls handed out most of the issues except two, one being in my pocket for a collection I had and another being in Tsukune's pocket for referencing with the next issue.

"Um, excuse me? Can I get a copy of the Newspaper?" a purple haired girl asked, coming out from behind the trees.

"AIYAH! Where did she come from!?" I yelled, taken aback from her sudden appearance. "Wait a minute… Mato, she looks a helluva lot like you!"

"Hmmm. You're right dude. She must be a Snow Woman!" Mato declared, popping in another piece of gum. Mato jacked Tsukune's paper and handed it to the girl. "Here you go, what's your name?"

"Thank you, I am Mizore. Nice to meet you Matoshi." She said, putting the paper away and getting closer to examine Mato.

"Ok, that is a BIT too close there, Mizore. And how do you know my name? I don't think I've seen you around here before?" Mato asked, pulling away from Mizore to where he was more comfortable.

"Oh that is simple, I've been requesting the newspapers while I was away in the human world!" she said, smiling at Mato, "And I always loved your poetry, it touched my heart…" she sighed, blushing a little bit.

"Well that makes sense, welcome to Youkai Academy, Mizore!" I exclaimed, pulling Mato to the side. "Hey man, I always wondered something…"

"And that is?" he asked.

"Where do you get all this gum? You somehow never go to the human world yet you have always provided yourself, and me, with a seemingly endless supply. How do you get it all?" I asked, pestering him about it.

"Well, when I was an agent in the human world, I was assigned to protect this one merchant. He was a gum manufacturer and was grateful for my help. He offered me gum, seeing as I had lollipops back then, and I liked it better than the hard candy. So I decided to place a constant order of his gum, and it gets shipped here in mass quantities every month." He explained, popping yet another piece in his mouth. I popped a piece of Big Red in my mouth at about the same time, spitting out the old one.

"Huh. That makes perfect sense." I said, dazed at the lengthy explanation. I looked around for the others, having gotten my answer, and I found that everyone else was already gone. The bell started ringing. "AW SHIT!!!" Mato and I screamed at the same time as we both dashed off at record breaking speeds to get to the classes on time.

"Hey guys, where's Mizore?" I asked as we walked down to the clubroom.

"I have no idea, but I'm sure she's fine." Moka exhaled, obviously being worried about the missing friend.

"Mato, you know her better than I do, do you have any idea where she could be?" I asked my chum, who was looking a bit gloomier than usual.

"Yeah, check by the coast. Our kind likes water you know." He dully replied, walking into the room.

I ran out of the school and towards the bus pick up area. When I got there, I noticed Mizore was sitting there alone. Mato then came up behind me and knocked me out.

"Keiryuu… come to the beach soon… we need your help…" the strange voice said to me again.  
"I can't come right now, I'm sort of wrapped up in events at the school. But starting next week the Newspaper Club starts their summer vacation, maybe you could wait until then?" I replied, remembering that her name was Ruby.

"_Keiryuu… come to the beach soon… we need your help…" the voice of Ruby repeated over and over and over again._

"_So you are tied up right now in the human world… I see, I'll be there as fast as I can Ruby!" I yelled…_

"BEACH!!!! Wait a minute, where am… DAMN YOU MATO!!!!!!!" I yelled as I came to in the infirmary. Kurumu was roused by my yelling and went to the side of my bed.

"Mornin sleepy head!" she cutely said, hugging my arm.

"Hey Kurumu. How long have I been out?" I asked her politely, trying not to lose control of my emotions.

"About three days, Mato knocked you out good didn't he?" she cheerfully replied.

"Well I would guess so… Did he at least ask Mizore to join the club?" I asked, getting a bit peeved at my friend's recklessness.

"Yeah, and she agreed to join us! Also, the PE teacher was fired for sexual harassment, apparently he tried to rape Mizore!" Kurumu said, flexing her knuckles.

"Sounds like him alright… How is everyone else? Is the vacation still on?" I asked rapidly, getting a bit worried that I couldn't hold up my promise to Ruby.

"Yeah, they used the events that occurred for the paper three days in a row, and it still sold like mad!" Kurumu cheered, hugging me again.

"That's great!" I said, having heard the first bit of good news in a while. "Now how have YOU been Kurumu?" I asked, smiling at her.

"I've been alright, Mizore and I have been feuding a lot lately, but I think we can still get along. All that I care about right now though is you!" she said, blushing.

"Well, that's-" I was about to say when I was flash-frozen. Kurumu had to thaw me out with her nails, but in the end everything was for the better.

"Mato, you must have a death wish…" I said, sneezing every so often.

"Nope, I'm happy with my life now that me and Mizore are going out!" he exclaimed, cheery for the first time in a long time.

"Well that's good to hear… but when I get out of this bed you better fucking run ^^" I said, smiling at him to hide the threat I just said.

"I know, but when you get out we have to go to the human world due to the vacation, remember? And you and I both know that powers aren't allowed in the human world!" he sneered, getting me really pissed off. We argued like that for a long time and before we knew it, morning had come.

I couldn't get Ruby's plea for help out of my mind for the next few days. Is it really that urgent? Why can she only contact me? Do I really want to help her? All that I knew was that my gut told me to help her, and I always followed my gut, unless Kurumu was involved.

Will the events be drastic again? Or will it just be a normal vacation? Who knows? All that I know is that I plan to enjoy every minute of it with Kurumu!


	7. Chapter 6

"Hey Matoshi… Matoooooshiiii… WAKE UP YOU LAZY SUMBITCH!" I yelled at him from his bedside. He apparently forgot to lock the door again.

"What the hell do you want from me?" he asked, covering his eyes with the blanket.

"Dude, you gotta get up. We're going to the beach today for the Newspaper Club's vacation!" I said, pumping my fists.

"Oh crap, it's today? Ugh, let me be for a bit, I have to get dressed," Mato grumbled as he slowly gained consciousness.

"Fine sleepy-head. But come outside when you're done, I need to talk to you for a bit," I said as I walked out the door. About 2 minutes later he emerged.

"Alright, let's go to the back of the building, it's more private over there," I said, motioning for Mato to follow after me.

"What did you want to talk-" Mato started to say when I interrupted him.

"Dude, I am getting tired of losing to these weaklings! My pride is starting to be hurt here! Let me take off at least one or maybe two limiters next time I'm in a fight, please?" I asked, shaking him by the shoulders.

"Fine, fine, but only under one condition: you have to be able to control yourself if you do, got it?" he said, brushing my hands off of him and slicking his hair back again.

"YES!" I yelled, causing Tsukune and Moka to come behind the dorm to my voice.

"There you two are! Hurry up and get to the bus or we'll be left!" Moka said, grabbing me while Tsukune grabbed Mato and we were pulled like dogs on leashes to the bus.

While riding the bus, I made sure not to think about Ruby at all and I isolated myself at the back, or at least I attempted to...

"Whatcha being so quiet for, Ryu?~" Kurumu asked me, hugging on my arm.

"I'm just wondering if anything is going to happen in the human world, seeing as trouble likes to follow me..." I sighed, escaping from my slight daze.

"Don't worry about it! If anything ever does happen, you always have me to protect you!~" she said, trying to comfort me. I scooted away and stared out the window, having had the opposite of the intended reaction. Moka scooted closer to Kurumu.

"Don't get worked up about this, you just hurt his male pride," she whispered jokingly, not knowing how close she was to the actual truth. After a silent trip, at least for me, the bus finally arrived at the beach! I was the first one off and I decided to go straight to the cliff and set up an umbrella there. Kurumu followed me, beach ball in hand and the others close behind.

"Nekonome-sensei, your tail!" I whispered to her as she came to the station I had just finished setting up.

"Oh right!" she exclaimed, hiding her ears and tail instantly. I took off all the limiters I had on to show a pair of black swim trunks with pictures of fire all over the legs.

"Ryu, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Mato asked me.

"Going for a swim in my SPECIAL swim trunks," I answered, winking at him. He got the jist of what I was saying to him, that these trunks have more seals on them than all of my clothes combined.

"How about a game of volleyball first, Ryu?" Kurumu asked, tossing the beachball at my head.

"You're on, Kurumu!" I said, knocking the ball back at her. Before I knew it, Tsukune, Yukari, Moka, and even Mizore had joined in on the fun. After some good serves and sets and other such volleyball related things, we decided to barbecue some fish Nekonome sensei caught in the ocean.

"Nekonome sensei, your tail is showing…" I said, taking a bite of the delicious fish.

"What? The smoke must be playing tricks on your eyes!" she said, blushing.

"Right, hang on a bit while I go and change back into my usual outfit, the ocean can wait for another day," I said, putting down my stick and going in the tent to change. I put on the upper part of my clothing list first as to hide the demonic aura that would come from changing and I finished up 2 minutes later.

"Took you long enough, Ryu!" Mato yelled at me as I came out. "Everyone else already went up to the sunflower garden on that cliff."

"Sorry to keep you waiting. You think we could catch up to them before they get to the cliff?" I asked in reply.

"If we run, I'd say we could BEAT them!" he smirked, holding his hand up. "We'll start when I drop my hand. NOW!" We both took off at track-star speeds, catching up to them in a matter of 30 seconds.

"What the-" Tsukune exclaimed as we zipped by him. "Hey! Get back here!" he said, getting the others to start running with him after us.

"Took you guys long enough!" I said, leaning on a tree, tilting my glasses to stare at Tsukune.

"The only reason you won was because you took us by surprise!" Tsukune remarked.

"Really? Even though you guys had a two minute head start?" I retorted, smirking.

"Guh… Shut up!" Tsukune returned, turning around then walking towards the sunflowers. "Shouldn't we start examining these anyway?"

"Yeah, you're right. That IS the reason we came here anyway…" I sighed, hefting myself off of the tree, Mato dropping down from the tree's branches. "But there is a local rumor about a witch in this area who kills off intruders who could pose a threat to the garden!" I warned, walking in with my hands behind my head and whistling. Mato followed close behind me in the same manner while the others had looks of wonder/worry on their faces.

"Hey, Ryu. Do you want me to check out the mansion over there? I know you weren't kidding about the witch…" Mato asked.

"Yeah, I'll see if she's here in the fields," I replied under my breath.

"Hey guys, I have to go to the little boy's room. I'll see you in a few!" Mato yelled over his shoulder as he ran through the sunflowers along a path to the mansion.

"Yeah, and I'm going to go ask those two people I noticed up ahead for a potential route to see all the flowers," I said, dashing forward.

"They just DITCHED us!" Kurumu said, eyes glaring.

"Don't get too worked up, Kurumu. Boys will be boys after all!" Yukari said, smirking and playing with Moka's boobs. Mizore stopped this with a chilling breath.

"Yo, Ruby? You out here?" I called as I walked even further into the sunflower garden.

"Yes, I'm over here," she replied not 10 feet away from where I was.

"Ok, straight to the point: I refuse your call for help. I cannot condone the killing of innocents, even if it is in preservation of a home!" I told her bluntly.

"I see, so I'll just have to remove your free will to get you to work with me…" she said, coming from the shadows.

"Like hell you will!" I yelled at her, getting into a fighting stance. Suddenly, night fell and all was black. I was temporarily blind and vulnerable to her plant's attacks. "Fuck!" I yelled as the plants ensnared me and hung me up in the air like I was being crucified.

"Get your hands off of him!" Kurumu yelled as she swooped down and slashed the vines off of me.

"WATCH OUT!" I yelled, but it was too late. Kurumu got slashed out of the sky by a huge plant and slammed down in front of me. "KURUMU!!!* I yelled out as I ran to her side, checking her injuries. "Don't move, Kurumu. I'll tend to your wounds as soon as I kick this bitch's ass…" I said as comfortingly as possible.

"Really? You beat me? That couldn't happen in a million years with your power level!" Ruby cackled. "I don't know what master sees in you, but apparently she has enough faith in you to want to kidnap you and use you as a weapon."

"You should just shut up," I said dryly, getting to my feet.

"Ooh, scary. I'm shaking in my boots!" she yelled sarcastically.

I took off my jacket, glasses, and hat. "You should be…" I said evilly with the red eyes of death.

"Really and why is… oh… OH GOD!" she screamed as she sensed the huge increase in my demonic aura.

"Releasing limiters to level 3. Activating the pact of the fire wielder," I said, taking off my gloves.

"N-now I see what master saw in you…" she stuttered, temporarily frozen in fear. She soon shook it off and regained her calm demeanor. "No, I can still beat you! I just have to use THAT spell…" she mumbled as she started to wave her wand around in a weird way, sending the man-eating plants away.

"I'll give you no time for incantations. PREPARE YOURSELF YOU SON OF A BITCH!" I yelled as I charged at highway speeds towards her.

"…INFRENUM!" she said, finishing the incantation and summoning up a huge man-eating plant. She then started to fuse with the plant at the mouth.

"That won't help you IN THE LEAST!" I yelled, forming a sword of sheer flames. "Open wide!" I yelled as I started to slash down at the creature's mouth.

"RYU WAIT!" I heard Mato yell at me from a short distance away.

"What the-" I said, fumbling in mid-air and slashing Ruby away from the beast, killing it but not her. By sheer coincidence, her wand broke upon hitting the ground and it effectively disabled her.

"She's not in her right mind, Ryu. I found the corpse of her so-called "Master" at the mansion. She's been dead for years, Ryu…" Mato said, huffing and puffing.

"I don't care anymore dude," I sighed, putting my clothes back on and I started to cry over Kurumu. The tears glowed a pale green and started to heal her wounds quickly.

"So you really care for her that much huh…" Mato sighed, sitting down. Moka and the others broke into the clearing almost immediately after that.

"What happened?" Mizore asked Mato.

"Ruby attacked Ryu to try and take his power, but Kurumu stopped her, getting hurt. Ryu went on a rampage and almost killed her until I snapped him out of his rage. He is now using his life energy through tears to heal Kurumu's fatal injuries," he quickly explained while the others crowded around me and Kurumu, encouraging her to recover. 10 minutes later, I finished healing her and immediately collapsed on top of her, having used up 5 years of my life to save hers.

-Brother to brother, time will only tell. The powers of light and darkness, you walk the line between the two. Pick wisely, your time is short. Only you can fight the forces of fate that weave their way around your life and those close to you. What will you do?-

I woke up suddenly from the dream on the bus. I was sweating all over, apparently I had a weird dream.

"Morning, Kei~!" Kurumu exclaimed, hugging my tightly, slowly squeezing even more life out of me.

"Kurumu, I know you love him even more now, but what good is he to you DEAD?!" Mato asked, pulling her away from me. I was dazed from lack of oxygen and I fell into sleep again, only to wake up to a chaotic scene…

________________________________________________________________________

Heya, sorry for the crappy timing and multiple story updates. I have a hard time concentrating on a particular series since I have so much school work, and I have to re-watch a series, or at least the episode I'm taking, each time I make a new chapter. I will finish this story soon, and move on to Capu2. Then I will start back on the MEWs and some good old Negi action!

Have a wonderful day,

DRAXKAMONE


	8. Chapter 7

"Wait a minute, what happened to me?" I asked, finally realizing where I was.

"You caused a ruckus when fighting Ruby and then you used life energy to save Kurumu. Too bad the ruckus made it imperative that we left at once, and here we are," Moka replied.

"Ah, so the vacation is over. But wait, what happened to Ruby?" I asked, looking around.

"Gin is taking care of her - which I highly detested to, knowing HIS nature - and will be coming back with her on a second trip," Kurumu answered, turning to look at me.

"Ah, so I should most likely hit him when he comes back, after thanking him, of course. Now, did we get enough information from the human world to make a paper?" I asked, boring myself with the questions that I had to ask.

"Yup! All the ruckus you made will make a good story and I'm sure Kurumu got enough about popular culture to make her section," Yukari replied this time. All of us had gathered in the back of the bus again, conversing about this and that and really getting jack-squat done.

-Brother to brother, time will only tell. The powers of light and darkness, you walk the line between the two. Pick wisely, your time is short. Only you can fight the forces of fate that weave their way around your life and those close to you. What will you do?-

"Oh right, now I remember!" I yelled out of the blue.

"Remember what?" Kurumu asked, getting closer.

"My dream. While I was asleep I got a message in my dreams from some voice," I said, going over the words in my head.

"And that message is what?" Moka and Mizore asked in unison. I replied with the prophecy that I suspected would come soon, as hinted by the 'your time is short' part.

"Hm, sounds ominous. Are you sure this dream is a prophecy? Could you have just come to have a nightmare or imagine this whole thing up?" Kurumu asked.

"Well I did have the dream about Ruby before we came here and you do know I have certain psychic powers, so I wouldn't shrug it off as coincidence," I explained.

"You do have a point there…" she replied, looking down.

"Now don't worry, I won't let anything bad happen to you or the rest of the Newspaper Club! It is my duty as vice- I mean, as a member," I said, almost sealing my fate with the Headmaster. Thank goodness Mato had been sleeping at the time.

"Well, the same comes from us. If you are protecting us, who protects you? We should work as hard as we can to protect each other equally, seeing as it wouldn't do to have you die just for us," Moka retorted, pointing out what I feared she would.

"Well, we're almost back to Youkai Academy, so there isn't really a need to worry. We should just focus on the pa- no… no!" I said, shivering rapidly in my seat.

"What's wrong, Ryu?" Kurumu asked, shaking my arm. "What is it? What happened?"

"No… n-no! NO!!!" I repeated over and over again before going into shock, staring out of the front window.

"What's he looking… oh no… it can't be! Already?!" Mato said, finally waking up.

"What is it Mato?! You guys are starting to worry me!" Tsukune said, hints of anger in his voice.

"Well, look out the front window and see for yourself," Mato replied, fear coming into his voice too. As they looked out, the noticed what had struck fear into Mato and I, the student police standing at the bus station of the academy.

"Brother to brother…" I whispered, still shaking in fear.

"What do those guys want?" Moka asked.

"Student Police… it's too early!" I yelled out, backing up as far as I could in the seat.

"What is he talking about 'Student Police'?" Mizore asked.

"Be on guard and prepare for battle…" I said, finally regaining my previous, calm self.

"Why?" Moka asked again.

"Because, they've come for Tsukune and I don't really think you want to know what they will do to him…" I said, thinking of a way out of this.

"But why would they want Tsukune?" Yukari asked me.

"Because, believe it or not, he's a human. Sorry for not telling you sooner, I feared how you would react to this," I replied, a grim tone in my voice.

"So, what ARE they going to do to Tsukune?" Moka asked worriedly.

"Most likely execute him. You know the rules…" I sighed, hefting myself up as the bus neared a stop. "Now fight to the death to save his life!" I yelled, pumping my fist.

"No need to tell us twice," Mato said, joining my side. We all left the bus in line and faced the committee in line as well.

"I'm sure you already know why I'm here, Keiryuu!" Kuyou said as I got off the bus.

"I see. You came to get your ass handed to you! I always knew my older bro liked pain!" I sneered, causing Kuyou to get riled up.

"That will be your last mistake! I don't care if you are the favorite child in our family, I WILL kill you!" Kuyou roared as he charged forward.

"Bad move, letting anger get the best of you," I smirked, dodging his fists. "Hey guys, I'll take care of Kuyou, you take care of those small-fry! I'll explain everything after the fight!"

"Psh, YOU take care of ME?" Kuyou retorted, "I'm afraid it shall be the other way around, brother." He started punching faster, knocking off my hat and glasses.

"I see, so you still let anger and rage control your life, living only for power and recognition. What a pitiful brother…" I sighed.

"I see you forgot a little something!" he yelled, throwing a spear at Tsukune, catching him on fire.

"NO! TSUKUNE!!!" I yelled, rushing at Kuyou. "You BASTARD!!!"

Suddenly the battle had turned from me being the calm one to him being the calm one. He started deflecting my fists like pebbles and increased in speed rapidly.

"Is that the best you have?!" Kuyou yelled at me. Moka and the others, having quickly dispatched of the weak underlings, rushed to Tsukune and Moka started to give him her blood.

"You guys get out of here, I'll handle HIM," I said, pointing at Kuyou. They picked up Tsukune and got out of there, all except vampire Moka.

"I don't run and I don't take orders!" she said to me in reply.

"Fine, just don't get in my way!" I yelled, taking off my gloves and charging at Kuyou with dramatically increased speeds.

"How the- SHIT!" he yelled as he was sent flying into the cliff wall.

"Eat dirt, asshole!" I yelled in his direction. He jumped out a few seconds later in Yoko form.

"Really? You think that would hurt ME?" he said, arrogance rising as always.

"Man, that ego of yours really does need some toning down, it might become contagious at some point!" I sneered at him, getting his blood boiling again.

"That's IT!" he yelled, swirling his four tails and throwing the fire at Moka. I jumped in the way of the blast, taking the full brunt of the damage.

"RYU!" I heard Kurumu yell from a few yards away.

"S-stay back Kurumu!" I replied, getting up. "Now then, Kuyou, you will see why that was a very bad move on your part!" I yelled, power rising from my body.

"Wha-What's going on?" Kuyou said, stepping back.

"Simple, you destroyed the seals on my clothes with that attack. Now I can go full demon form and kick your ass royally!" I smirked, my shape shifting to that of a mix between his Yoko form and my human form, with five tails and white flames.

"I-impossible! Last time we fought, you couldn't even go YOKO form! How can you be so far ahead of me in such a short time?!" he asked, stepping back further and going into his final form.

"It's simple: I wasn't allowed to go beyond human form for fear of destroying the school. But now I don't care for that, seeing as you are going to be destroyed here!" I growled, getting in a battle stance. "And Mizore and Mato, put up an ice barrier to protect yourselves from the heat."

"Already on it Ryu!" Mato answered, putting up a wall with Mizore to protect the unconscious Tsukune and the vampire Moka injecting her blood.

"Now, let's begin, Kuyou!" I yelled. "Sword of the Holy Flames!" A sword of condensed flame appeared in my hand and I charged at Kuyou at break-neck speeds. He tried to counter with his tail attack, which I blocked with my sword using an arcing effect.

"KNOW YOUR PLACE!" I yelled as I smashed my fist into his stomach, sending him into the cliff and out the top.

"I'll get you back for this… gah," he says, getting knocked unconscious.

"Holy… you did it!" Kurumu cheers, running to my side and hugging me when I go back to human form.

"But what about Tsukune?" I asked, a look of exhaustion on my face.

"He's breathing and has a regulated heartbeat. He's resting now and Yukari and the others took him to the hospital," she replied.

"Good. Can you-" I started to say before passing out.

The next morning, I woke up in the hospital in a bed next to Tsukune and Moka.

"Ugh… is everyone ok?" I said, coming to slowly.

"Yes. Tsukune is sleeping and the others are outside the door," Moka replied. I tried to force myself to sit up, but was pushed back down due to extreme pains in my ribs.

"Kurumu…" I said gently, projecting it as a thought as well. She came in immediately and hugged me tightly.

"Thank god you are alright!" she exclaimed, tears rolling down her face.

"Ow! I could say the same about you. But why are you worried about me?" I asked, bewildered.

"Simple: you had such severe burns that they thought the fact you were even stable to be a miracle!" she wept, hugging me tighter, crushing my ribs.

"Ca- Bre-" I tried to say when she immediately got off of me.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. Now get some rest, I'll be right here if you need anything," she said, taking a seat next to my bed.

I could say that I was relieved, but I couldn't get a certain thought out of my head: the brother to brother part came true, but what about the rest? There was no real 'threat' in the fight with Kuyou. -Brother to brother, time will only tell. The powers of light and darkness, you walk the line between the two. Pick wisely, your time is short. Only you can fight the forces of fate that weave their way around your life and those close to you. What will you do?- What does it mean by 'The powers of light and darkness'? And why do I feel so cold all of a sudden…

CONTINUED IN THE DEMON WITHIN: ANTI-THESIS


End file.
